When I give my word, I will never waiver!
The events of late 2012 have not changed any of my former positions. The fact that the current Board of Trustees,( aside from the newly elected) allowed a systematic dismantling of a great man’s legacy, allowed ridiculous sanctions to harm
our school and community, and rolled over when presented by a shaky report at best, reaffirms the fact that Penn State University is not of
primary importance to them. The only area of concern to them
is deflecting their own culpability. The majority of the Board obvioisly did not have enough integrity or strength of character to do what was right for the university, the students, the alumni, the community , and the Paterno family who helped build It all.
When I give my word, when I take a stand, when I believe in something as I do the betterment of Penn State, I will never waiver. My professional knowledge will be a tremendous asset to the progression of ideas and the removal of old bureaucracy. However my staunch moral and ethical compass will make those ideas come to fruition.
It is Not enough to say, “We want to remove old board members”, “We want to restore the image of a university.” One must possess the knowledge of procedural laws, and the where with all to implement them. I have both.
I am presently engaged in an effort that has created real health care reform, that will save an organization like PSU 10′s of millions of dollars. Along with all the other goals we commonly share , fiscal responsibility and alternative forms of governance must be considered and one of those alternatives is health care reform.
My Youngest Supporters!
My youngest supporters, hoping to preserve their future in becoming PSU graduates!
Alumni Website is Live
The alumni association has produced this site to assist the nominees in getting out their platform. I have supplied the answer to the three questions posed by the A.A.
71 of the 86 candidates participated in our “Three Questions” project, and the website is now live. You can find everything at www.pennstatermag.com/bot2012.
Take a look – remember, voting opens tomorrow. Click on “How To Vote” on the http://www.jamescarnicella.wordpress.com.
The Big Question- Why are you running and what will be your priority if elected?
I am the only nominee with the specific career experiences in managing public sector organizations according to state, federal and fiduciary standards. I have been responsible for organizational design and implementation of standards to avoid dysfunctional business practices. I have been responsible for budget preparations and financing of governmental entities for over 25 years. Other nominee’s, especially those most recently endorsed, all seem to be very passionate in their quest to serve our alumni, but will not be as prepared as I to challenge the BOT and Executive advisers. I believe the status quo, dysfunctional business practice will prevail and an inexperienced alumni nominee will be consumed into the present system. My experience will allow me to beat back the deceptive and manipulative practices of the select few members and Executive advisers of the BOT. My first priority is to conduct what I am calling an “organizational cleansing”. Before we can discuss the financial future, the land-grant status, the tuition crisis and the move from secretive versus inclusive and truly transparent practices, we must eliminate those that have no intention of changing their dysfunctional business practices!
I am calling for the Governor to recuse himself from the BOT and appoint a designee from the election by the alumni. Secondly there shall be a full-scale search for a new President, one that is not connected and manipulated by the present BOT. There then should be an “organizational audit” of every executive and departmental director to determine if they have been involved with the deceptive and manipulative practices that have led the BOT to abdicate their Fiduciary responsibilities to the Penn State Community. We must also create a new system of communications that enhances the flow of information from the Executive level to the alumni across the Country by creating regional relations between the alumni BOT representatives and the local alumni chapters.
James Carnicella
Watch Jim’s video and you’ll want to give him your support to help Penn State return to glory!
Points of Interest by James Carnicella ’73
*The BOT must be transformed into a public organization by changing the present standards of governance, *change the status quo of BOT and the administrative staff’s operations of PSU, *take back control of the University, abdicated by the BOT to lawyers, Governor and special interests, *lawyers and risk management issues should not be driving University decisions, *business and political connections should no longer be the qualification to be invited on the BOT, *a real transparent, open public record type, all inclusive organization must be created, *reversal of prior employment decisions made by the BOT in order to avoid personal liability, should be required, *review the entire University organization as it relates to the reduction of budget allocations, so as to maintain PSU as a viable choice for
higher education, by requiring each department to justify expenditures *recruit for a President that is not connected and covering for the present BOT, *create a regional relationship between the BOT and alumni association chapters from across the country, *elect an alumni representative with the experience and passion to resist challenges from the lawyers, Governor, staff, and others,
That nominee would be me James Carnicella ’73
….Investigation regarding “cover-up”
James E. Carnicella
Class of `73
….Investigation regarding “cover-up” and hush money authorized by the Board of Trustee’s, and out of court settlements, and spending millions of dollars before and after the Governor becomes a Board Member , along with his five appointed positions on the Board, and now a budget crisis spearheaded by the same governor who counseled the Board on how to “act”…!
Some believe the new alumni representatives on the Board of Trustees will not make an impact because there are 29 other members to carry on the status quo. Some believe the Executive Business types appointed to the present Board will be able to continue their arrogant service to our University.
For those of you who do not live in Center County or follow Pennsylvania politics as it relates to PSU, the Second Mile, the Gricar’s, Attorney Wendell Courtney, A.G./Governor Corbett, Schultz, Curley, Spanier, Lanny Davis, and the band of Trustees who are connected and intertwined with business deals, political contributions, employment decisions, and millions of other dollars they have authorized spending, then please read William D. Brown, Ph D., P.E. summary of the above named actors and their history since 1998.
The reason I answered the call as a nominee for a position on the Board of Trustees is to rely on my law enforcement career and 25 years of experience as a Human Resource but most importantly Risk Management Executive for Public Sector Organizations, to challenge the status quo, withstand the resistance from the present Board Members and to force changes in the governance of our University. Then assist with the redesign of possibly the whole University, to deal with the Finance and Budget constraints being forced on us by the economy, the governor and state legislature.
I believe the Charter, By-Laws and Standing Orders that now govern the University need to be amended so that we can develop a public institution that is open, transparent and all inclusive and the primary goal should be to educate or children, be an integral part of our Community, and maintain the traditions and standards of excellence established and maintained over 150 years!
Based on the initial statement above, if the subpoena served and allegations become the truth, I really do not think we will need to be worried about the present Board of Trustees, their Advisors and the Executive staff that were present during these shenanigans.
God Bless the Alumni Association Staff for their production of the latest edition of The Penn Stater.
Points to Consider
The present form of governance must be changed from the autocratic form fraught with “cronyism”, power/influence brokering, to a more transparent and inclusive “public “organization.
The actions of the Governor both in his present “dual” role and before as A.G. have exposed numerous conflicts of interests, evidenced by his acceptance of campaign contributions, his failed indictments of Sandusky, using certain Board Members to do his bidding , all to enhance his personal/political agenda. His manipulation and influence over the present Board Members was best exampled when he whispered at that infamous November meeting “remember the child in the shower.” In regards to the present situation, for him to have hidden behind the cloak of the criminal justice system, the secrecy of the grand jury system and the darkness of the Trustees meetings, for upwards of ten years, and then to use just a few Members to surprise the PSU Community with immediate actions that violate every form of due process, fairness and well established public sector standards, must not go without further scrutiny!
Someone has finally solicited the federal authorities to investigate a possible “cover-up” over these past many years. It seemed evident from last year the Governor, selected Board Members through their actions as well as other staff/advisors, and if you follow the money, i.e. political contributions of $200,000+, $38,000 from Trustees, instant approval of $2 million by the Board, appointing an A.D. and President from the clique, their actions were very suspect! Political power, influence, greed and millions of dollars have been the recipe for corruption, especially inPennsylvania, for a long time.
PSU must be governed like any other public organization required deliberating issues, discussing motions and making decisions in the sunshine. Each member then may be held accountable for their service and commitment to the students and alumni. Furthermore, the recommendations of staff, (President, legal, administrative, and others) can be evaluated. The status quo of appointing Corporate figureheads who either do not have the experience to evaluate the information they receive or do not care about the decisions they have allowed to happen, must change. It is not the number of Trustees that should be questioned but the qualifications, expectations, and performance of those on the Board that needs to be questioned!
The autocratic system of governance and the effects of the cronyism have led to the following list of issues;
Employment decisions regarding Schultz, Curley, Coach Paterno, the Erickson and Joyner appointments and the decisions regarding the previous coaching staff,
4.4 million dollars paid out in severance, the instant allocation of millions of dollars to programs supposedly for the Board to “save face”,
Calling for an administrative investigation after a number of decisions were made before the benefit of the information an investigation would have provided,
MY POSITION, will include requiring the Board to revisit all of the actions taken since before and after the grand jury report, amending the present Charter, By-laws and Standing Orders that the Board of Trustees use as their right to govern, demand an accounting of all departments of the University to justify the effectiveness and efficiency of their functions and in conjunction have a professional analysis performed of the design of the Organization and report on the psyche of the same, and require a competitive search for President, Athletic Director and reverse the decisions to appoint prior Board Members and Administrative staff to protect the personal interest of the few Members who seem to be controlling our University, and to begin a real move toward transparency, instead of the new Chairperson’s veiled announcement/attempt by continuing to hold private/secret meetings.
The Alumni Association must also be more involved with the Board of Trustees and should be more of an oversight group and more communicative with the Alumni regarding the activities and decisions of the Board of Trustees. The Trustee Board Members representing the Alumni should create a relationship with alumni Chapter Presidents on a regional basis to enhance the level of communications.
Please see my position statement for more details.
A 73′ PSU Graduate and a Candidate for Penn State Board of Trustees
I am honored to answer the call for change in the standard of governance displayed by the present Board of Trustees. My experiences will bring a new perspective based on the fundamental principles of operating a “public organization”. In light of their recent decisions, the trustees do not seem to have the background to challenge the status quo or their own advisors regarding issues such as administrative investigations, employment contracts, resolution of lawsuits and the instant allocation of millions of dollars in areas where they lack expertise.
